classes

'Anyone who is looking to become more specific, flexible, grounded and playful performer should give themselves the gift of clown training with Toomey. It has been one of the single most influential components of my education as an actor.' ​-ANDRUS NICHOLS, Elliot Norton Award Winning Actor for Saint Joan with Bedlam Theatre

'Michael Toomey and Andrew Borthwick Leslie are transformational teachers deeply committed to and successful in creating experiences that inspire and train artists in a way that serves both our profession and our world.  They have deeply affected who I am as an artists as well as several of my students.  I am working to bring them and the Humanist Project to my full ensemble of artists as often as I can.'- REBECCA KEMPER-GOODHEART, Artistic Director, Elm Shakespeare

An exploration of Twelfth Night:
​the humanist approach

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS!
 
The Humanist Approach an Exploration of 12th Night
Michael F. Toomey and Andrew Borthwick-Leslie of the Humanist Project offer a exciting new class exploring the Actor’s instrument by exploring Shakespeare’s 12th night for 10 weeks from a humanist perspective.

“Nothing that is Human is alien to me” – Terrence
Incorporating the full Human experience into our Work, Play, Life and Art

Andrew and Michael are back after a year of successful classes, with two more offerings, the first of which is their class on exploring Shakespeare’s Twelth Night. Using the play of 12th Night as the source material, this class will explore scene work, speeches, and the physical life of the Artist. This class will examine the individual moments of storytelling in the Artist’s work to examine whether Breath, Body, Thought and Impulse are fully present. With prose and verse text from Shakespeare’s 12th Night, this project will explore the questions: What does it mean to play in a Shakespeare Comedy? What does it mean to actually look a, read and play with a script that has so much culture baggage. Are all the elements of the Artists’ spirit present in their work and how can they be more fully integrated? Can the artist maintain that spirit in relationship to the audience and their scene partners? What affect does living and working in New York City have on the Artists’ mindset? Can the Artist maintain the size and scope of Shakespearean language without being limited by the City and yet including the City into an experience of expanded language, image and being. What new customs can we create to help us become a more integrated Artist in our play, movement and text? What would it mean to apply the Artist’s mind set to Life in all its aspects?

Don't Miss Out on this exciting opportunity!
September 20, 27
Oct 4, 11, 18, 25,
Nov 1, 15, 29
Dec 6

3 hours a night 7-10
10 weeks
Clinton Cameo Studios
307 West 43rd st

Space is limited so reserve your place today.
Please send your request to Thehumanistproject@gmail.com

Cost 
$425 A non-refundable payment is due on the first day of class.
For those with limited resources it may be possible to set up payment plans. Contact us at Thehumanistproject@gmail.com for more information.

(We turned people away last fall and spring, and this class may fill quickly. In order to assure a complete experience for the artists, we want to have a group that is balanced in demographics, so it may not be ‘first come first serve’. We will however, give preference to early responders.)

Artist Bios: 
Andrew Borthwick-Leslie is a member of Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, MA where he has taught, directed and acted for twenty years. He has taught acting and voice at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Emerson College, De Sales University and the University of Maryland among others. Andrew has run workshops for the Center for Renaissance Studies, the American Bar Association, the New England Homeless Veterans shelter and many more. He has directed, devised, or assisted on over fifty productions -from Cymbeline to Perestroika. Most recently he directed Love’s Labour’s Lost and Merchant of Venice for the Shakespeare Forum at the Gym at Judson in Washington Square. He lives happily Brooklyn.

Michael F. Toomey has been a member of the nationally acclaimed Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA since 1998, where he is an actor, director, and faculty member. He is a founding member and trustee of Split Knuckle Theatre, which devises new works of theatre and is currently touring throughout the world with recent performances in Bangkok, Athens and Paris. Michael has been a Visiting Assistant Professor at Binghamton University teaching Clown, Shakespeare and Fight. Michael teaches workshops for professional actors in Fight, Clown and Shakespeare around the country and abroad. He has directed, devised or choreographed numerous shows including Julius Caesar and Alice In Wonderland and has performed throughout the East coast and internationally including roles such as Macbeth, Scapin, and Polonius. He is a graduate from LISPA (London International School of Performing Arts) and holds an MFA in Lecoq-based actor created theatre from Naropa University.

FALL clown Training with Michael toomey

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS!

Fall Clown class in New York City with Michael F. Toomey.
Every Monday for Ten Weeks of
Extensive Clown Training

Space is limited so apply today by sending an email to
Thehumanistproject@gmail.com!

We are all born funny. We come into the world with something unique, something off-balance. It's what drives your loved ones mad or makes them fall in love with you. It is the most intimate part of our selves, it is why we get back up when we fall down. It's what makes us most Human, it's what makes us poetic. Physically, Emotionally, Spiritually..... Ecumenically. 

It is the Clown.

The question is not "do we each have a clown?" or "can you find your clown?" The question is how much of yourself are you willing to reveal today--and celebrate in a very public way?

Throughout history, the Clown has played a vital role in our communities. Cross-culturally, the Clown has been looked to in order to reveal what is most human about us all and asks us to laugh about it. Over these ten weeks, actors will explore what is most human about them selves--revealing it and celebrating it publicly. This is a class in Clowning, an exploration of the Red Nose, Play, Complicity and how each of these are vital to the actor's training. Being funny is not a requirement.

Don't Miss Out on this exciting opportunity!

3 hours each class
Mondays
Time 7-10
September 18, 25, 
Oct 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
November 6, 13, 20
Clinton Cameo
Manhattan
307 W. 43rd St.

Cost
$425
A non-refundable payment is due on the first day of class. For those with limited resources it may be possible to set up payment plans. Contact us at Thehumanistproject@gmail.com for more information.

Space is limited so apply today by sending an email to
Thehumanistproject@gmail.com

Michael F. Toomey has been a member of the nationally acclaimed Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA since 1998, where he is an actor, director, and faculty member. He is a founding member and trustee of Split Knuckle Theatre, which devises new works of theatre and is currently touring throughout the world with recent performances in Bangkok, Athens and Paris. For the last three years Michael has been a Visiting Assistant Professor at Binghamton University teaching Clown, Shakespeare and Fight. Michael teaches workshops for professional actors in Fight, Clown and Shakespeare around the country and abroad. He has directed, devised or choreographed numerous shows including Julius Caesar and Alice In Wonderland and has performed throughout the East coast and internationally including roles such as Macbeth, Scapin, and Polonius. He is a graduate from LISPA (London International School of Performing Arts) and holds an MFA in Lecoq-based actor created theatre from Naropa University. This Fall Michael will be working on a new devised piece clown piece.

what people are saying about the humanist project classes

​'For me, acting requires an honest connection with my true self, with all the parts of myself I ignore, push away, and/or refuse to acknowledge in the day to day. Perhaps it's self-preservation in such a big city and competitive industry. The Humanist Project's approach starts with the actor as a person, who he is first and foremost and builds from there using his life experiences as the canvas on which to paint. My training with Michael and Andrew has been invaluable, especially since moving to New York, where this sense of self-preservation can so easily overwhelm an actors journey for truth. The Humanist Project has continually brought me back to the essentials and joy of acting, for this I am very grateful.' - PAUL-EMILE CENDRON, Actor, The Judge

'The Humanist Project is my favorite place to play, grow & experiment as an artist in NYC! If you're looking for a fun, nurturing & explorative environment to learn, take any of Michael & Andrew's class offerings (& any of their guests as well!)' -EMILY VERE NICOLL, Actor, She Stoops to Conquer

'​These two teachers, Michael Toomey and Andrew Borthwick Leslie, are inventive, freeing and touched with a genius of teaching non-judgmentally. Working with each of them has been freeing, inspiring and eye-opening! I cannot recommend them too highly.' -DENNIS KRAUSNICK, Director of Training, Shakespeare & Company

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